LOCAL AND GENERAL

Wairarapa Times-Age, 23 June 1943, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL

Road Blocked.

A slip was reported last night to have blocked the Akatarawa road, on the Waikanae side. It was expected that the road would' be clear for traffic again by noon today.

Mr Scrimgeour Indisposed. Mr C. G. Scrimgeour, former Controller of the National Commercial Broadcasting Service, ' did not enter camp yesterday as was intended. He is temporarily indisposed, and a medical certificate concerning his condition has been accepted by the military authorities. He will enter camp as soon as he is fit again.

Mail Lost.

The Postmaster-General, Mr Webb, stated yesterday that he regretted, to announce the loss of four bags of letter mail dispatched from Fiji early this month. The mail would contain correspondence posted by civilians and members of the New Zealand Armed Forces stationed in Fiji. War Damage Premium.

The opinion that a premium of 6d in the £lOO instead of the present ss, was ample in view of the size to which the War Damage Fund had grown, was expressed by Mr F. G. Baskett, president of the Auckland Chamber of Commerce, at a meeting of the council. A resolution was passed urging that the premium should be substantially reduced.

High Price for Passion Fruit. At the Wellington public markets yesterday one carton of first grade passion fruit, containing ten dozen, was sold to a Chinese bidder for £2 9s 6d. This price (wholesale) works out at just under 5d each. At the other extreme, a box of small figs was started by the auctioneer at ss, but failing to get an advance he “went Dutch,” getting down to Is, then 6d, when a humorous Chinese said that if the auctioneer gave him sixpence he would take the box away.

Bowls on Sunday.

Sunday play has proved highly successful in every respect, states the annual report of the Wellington Bowling Club, one of the several city bowling clubs which last season followed the example of suburban clubs by introducing Sunday play. The change was made at the wish of a large majority of the members, expressed through a postal ballot held at the direction of the last annual meeting. A special committee was set up to conduct the Sunday games.

Arapuni Repairs. The likelihood of the damaged generating unit at the Arapuni power station being brought into commission again at the end of the month was mentioned yesterday by the Minister of. Works, Mr Semple. He said the repairs were proceeding according to schedule and nothing untoward had occurred to delay the progress of the work. It was expected that the repairs would be completed toward the end of this week, after which a period of drying out would be necessary and the generator then brought into operation again.

Molesting Service Men,

A warning that in future gaol sentences, without the option of fines, would be imposed on men who tried to force service men fights, was given in the Wellington Magistrate’s Court yesterday by Mr J. L. Stout, S.M., aftei' two men had pleaded guilty to disorderly behaviour while drunk. Clarence Desmond Bishop, labourer, aged 21, and Allan Graham Murrell, seaman and labourer, aged 23, were each fined £3 and costs, and on another charge of wilfully damaging a cell utensil Murrell was convicted and ordered to make good the loss, 12s 6d. SeniorSergeant Paine said that Bishop, with his coat off, was in Dixon Street, near the corner of Cuba Street, at 6.30 p.m. on Monday, challenging Americans to ’fight, and a very ugly situation developed. Certainly he was a little under the influence of liquor, but that type of offence was becoming far too common. Men of his type went out to stir up trouble with visiting service men and New Zealand service men, and. Bishop was calling on everyone to “come and fight the Yanks.”

New Plot for Ex-Soldiers.

The plan of the layout of a new burial area at the Masterton cemetery for returned service men, submitted by the Wairarapa R.S.A., has been adopted by the Masterton Borough Council. The planting of kowhai trees and other native shrubs on the borders of the ground was left in the hands of Councillor H. E. Gardner to arrange.

Closing of William Street. The Masterton Picture and Entertainment Company has advised the Masterton Borough Council that the closing of William Street would be prejudicial to the company’s interests. The council decided last night to reply that it proposed to take steps to close the street under the provisions of the Municipal Corporations Act. Labour and Douglas Credit.

A denial that the Government’s financial policy had ever been influenced by Douglas social credit as suggested from some Opposition speakers, was made by the Minister of Transport, Mr O’Brien, in the House of Representatives last evening. “The Labour Party never was, and probably never will be, a Douglas credit party," he said.

Improved Gas Finances.

The improved financial position of the local gas undertaking was referred to at last night’s meeting of the Masterton Borough Council. The chairman of the gas committee, Councillor A. D. Low, said the gross profit had advanced from £1335 in 1942 to £2455 this year. The appropriation account closed with a credit balance of £5731, which was an increase of £1095 on the previous year’s figure. > Taxis for Service Men. At a sitting in Wellington of the No. 2 Licensing Authority, an application by an Otaki taxi driver for licences for two extra trips to another town with service men was refused. Mr T. O. Skoglund (chairman) said he understood that it was necessary for these soldiers to be taken back to where they came from. There had been a lot of trouble on the Wairarapa side. He would be deluged with applications if he acceded. The service men must realise they could not travel about the country and have a lot of transport provided for them.

Woman’s Unjust Complaint. How individuals sometimes harass the Price Tribunal was illustrated by Mr B. S. Connor, associate member of the Tribunal, in a talk before the Wei lington Rotary Club yesterday. One day a woman rang up the Tribunal office to complain of the price of a coat she had bought. As the ticket on the coat gave all the information needed, an inspector was sent out immediately to investigate. He went straight to the firm concerned, , went thoroughly into the costs, only to discover that the price was right. On ringing up the complainant to give her the assurance that the price was right, he was staggered at her reaction. “I knew the price was right,” she said sweetly, “but Mrs told me at tea yesterday that she had bought a similar coat for less, and I did not wish to be imposed upon.” That was the way the Tribunal was sometimes used to settle afternoon tea arguments.

Railway Race Traffic. Replying, in the House of Representatives last evening to criticism by Mr Polson (Opposition, Stratford), that the Railways Department was running race trains at excursion fares for distances of 200 and 300 miles, the Minister of Railways, Mr Semple, challenged Mr Polson to produce any railway advertisement substantiating his statement. The facts were, said the Minister, that the Railways Department was not running race trains at excursion rates or over distances of 200 or 300 miles. The railways had served the public as common carriers for many years, and while Parliament permitted race meetings to carry on in war time, it was the duty of the railways to carry the public to the races. There would be a flood of criticism from -all classes of the public—and rightly so—if the Railways Department refused to carry racegoers to Trentham or elsewhere when races were on. In any case, racing was a profitable source of revenue for the Government, totalisator and stakes tax returning. £1,479,021 in the last two years.